Friday Frights & This Time Last Year
FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
OPM breach fallout. Editor Lindy Kyzer reports, “ClearanceJobs recently released the results of a customer and cleared candidate survey. The takeaway? The Office of Personnel breach has had a significant – and negative- effect on security clearance hiring. The reasons are two-fold – ever-lengthening security clearance processing delays and a highly cautious and constantly decreasing cleared candidate pool who are uninterested in unsolicited offers.”
Minding your business. Contributor David Brown writes, “Just as exercise has long been established as a career-booster, helping to stave off burnout and improve productivity, a growing body of science suggests that the techniques of mindfulness contribute to a workforce that is happier and better able to handle stress. Whereas hitting the gym will make it less likely that you will need to call in sick, the mindful focusing on the present might lead you to take fewer ‘mental health’ days.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
China’s war warning. Reuters’ Ben Blanchard and Andrea Shalal report, “China’s naval commander told his U.S. counterpart that a minor incident could spark war in the South China Sea if the United States did not stop its ‘provocative acts’ in the disputed waterway . . . . Admiral Wu Shengli made the comments to U.S. chief of naval operations Admiral John Richardson during a video teleconference on Thursday . . . .”
Russia’s war play. Defense One‘s Marcus Weisgerber reports, “[T]wo Russian Tupolev Tu-142s approached the USS Ronald Reagan in international waters near the Korean peninsula. The carrier launched four armed F/A-18 Super Hornets to intercept and escort the maritime patrol aircraft, variants of the venerable Bear bomber. Still, the Russian planes pressed on, eventually passing within one mile of the U.S. carrier. . . . [W]ith Moscow reasserting itself and China flexing new military muscles, run-ins in sky and sea are becoming more common.” See also, “Russian warplanes intercepted” and “Russian bombers buzz carrier Reagan.”
ISIS’ urban warfare training. The Long War Journal’s Bill Roggio and Caleb West report, “The Islamic State and its jihadist rival Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, are training forces to conduct urban warfare at camps inside Syria. Both jihadist groups have released propaganda on social media sites over the past several days that show their personnel drilling in urban warfare tactics. The Islamic State is training its forces inside a city under its control, while Al Nusrah is instructing fighters near the contested city of Aleppo.”
Shaker Aamer released from Gitmo. Vice News’ Jason Leopold and Ben Bryant report, “The US military will today repatriate 46-year-old Shaker Aamer to the United Kingdom, marking the most high-profile detainee release in the nearly 14-year history of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. . . . Aamer, who is looked upon by other detainees as their leader, has never been charged with a crime.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Tapping into the Valley. Defense Media Activity’s Cheryl Pellerin reports, “Two months after Defense Secretary Ash Carter officially opened the doors of the Defense Innovation Unit-Experimental in California’s Silicon Valley, the new director and his early team members already are engaging with potential innovators.”
TOW restock: Raytheon. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “U.S. Army missile experts are asking the Raytheon Co. Missile Systems segment in Tucson, Ariz., to build radio-controlled anti-armor and bunker-busting missiles under terms of a $50.4 million contract announced Thursday. Officials of the Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., are asking Raytheon to produce the tube-launched, optically-tracked, wireless-guided (TOW) missile, versions of which that have been in the U.S. inventory since 1970.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
OPM breach broadens: more coming. Federal New Radio’s Meredith Somers reports, “The Office of Personnel Management has mailed out 3.7 million notification letters to cyber breach victims in the month since the agency announced it would begin notifying those impacted by the hack. An OPM spokesperson told Federal News Radio in an email that the agency expects to mail an additional 700,000 letters by the end of the month, with a total of 10 million letters mailed by mid-November. . . . More than 21 million people were affected by the data breach, which jeopardized personal data including birthdates and Social Security numbers. About 25 percent of those victims also had their fingerprints stolen.”
Levitation, rotation, and acoustic transducers. Defense One’s Patrick Tucker reports, “Researchers in England have created, essentially, a tractor beam that uses highly targeted sound waves to move objects in the air as though pulled and pushed by invisible fingers. . . . The breakthrough holds potential for non-lethal weapons of the sort that the military is looking to use to stop attackers at checkpoints. Beyond that, you could potentially move objects to build bases in places where you don’t want put boots on the ground.”
Marine Corps cyber-vision. FierceGovernmentIT’s Molly Bernhart Walker reports, “The Marine Corps will review its force structure over the next few months with an eye toward overarching investment areas rather than traditional stovepipes, said Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, deputy commandant for combat development and integration and commanding general of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command. Walsh said the service will likely consider taking a ‘risk in capacity’ so that it can grow capability in emerging areas, such as cyber operations.” See also, “We don’t need cyber privateers.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Sign here. “Legislation sparing the country the specter of a catastrophic default and partial government shutdown is ready for President Barack Obama’s signature after the Senate passed it by a comfortable margin. Senators voted 64-35 for the measure, which also provides a two-year budget, in the early hours Friday. Democrats teamed with Republican defense hawks to overcome opposition from conservatives including two GOP senators running for president – Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas.”
Reid on Rubio. “Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid tore into Sen. Marco Rubio on Thursday, calling on the Florida Republican and 2016 presidential contender to resign his Senate seat as he racks up no-shows on his voting record while campaigning for the White House. ‘Why shouldn’t he [resign]? He hates the Senate,’ Reid said . . . . Reid dismissed Rubio as a ‘nonentity’ in the institution he arrived in nearly five years ago”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“The CIA’s Torture Experiment.” Huffington Post contributors Robert Jay Lifton and Scott Allen argue, “We must act to reestablish our legal and ethical principles, confront violations of them, and restore the health of our own healing communities. The lawsuit against Mitchell and Jessen is an important step in this direction.”
“An exemplary way to defeat Islamic State.” The Christian Science Monitor Editorial Board argues, “The war against IS can’t be fought merely as a military or theological one. It must be won with living models for young Muslims – either individuals or entire communities and countries that provide purpose and belonging. The violent and illusory path offered by Islamic State would fade away.”
“What a Russian ‘win’ in Syria would look like.” Reuters contributor Josh Cohen argues, “Putin’s desire to reassert Russia’s influence in the Middle East appears to be bearing fruit already. By summoning Assad to Moscow on Oct. 20, Putin made clear that Russia now runs the show in Syria.”
